Fall party '17 at Sky Castle

Great party, biggest yet... about 30 people showed.  Happy to have hosted some of the Sewanee music faculty -  Jessica, Stephen, Peter and to have had such great music.  Performers for the night included the Hendley / Bevers duo, many guitar students playing solo, Joe playing blues, Linda playing her own cool tunes, and Peter and I playing Piazzolla.

Weather was great, nice sunset.  About 10 people came from Murfreesboro, and most of the rest from the mountain.  The mulled wine and pasta turned out great.

Old guys from the 'Boro at sunset - Will, Bill, Jan, and Andrew

My phone ran out of memory, was hoping to get more video but here's a few brief clips.  I got Peter and I playing the entire "Cafe 1930" by Piazzolla.  Jan got some too.




Jacob and Michael played great...






Since the audio didn't come out on this video, here's their performance from the concert a few days ago at MTSU.  I just love this piece...




It was good to play with Peter and there was a discussion about us playing at the Sewanee faculty Christmas party - which would be a very high visibility gig on campus, much bigger than a concert since virtually all Sewanee faculty attend this event. I was there 2 yr ago and there must have been at least 200 - 300 people there. Happy to have Stephen over and with my upcoming Guitar Festival, I feel quite a bit more integrated into the college scene. Also, I had a discussion and interest expressed in starting a guitar program in 2019 at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival.   Hilary, the Asst. Director of SSMF, seems quite interested in helping me develop it.

5 years on the mountain

Five years ago I bought this house.  

I remember very clearly the first time I visited.  It was a Sunday afternoon in early Sept '12, there had been severe weather that day and I had to wait until the tornadic storms passed.   I arrived and saw the realtor's car as she was waiting inside.  I immediately walked to the edge of the bluff and took this photo on my old cheap phone.  This was the first thing I saw of this place:


After being blown away by the view and the setting,  walked to the edge of the round stone house and looked at the exterior.  Immediately I thought of 'castle' ... a little one.  Later I'd name this place 'Sky Castle' ... as a friend later told me that this perch was on the 'edge of an ocean of air.'

I closed the deal on Oct. 17, 2012 and the next weekend, loaded up the trailer with a few basic things, including a futon and some lumber to build a woodshed.




It was beautiful that weekend.  It was sunny, the leaves were turning, the wind was blowing in from the cove.  It was a challenge to hold up the lumber to frame the woodshed.  But I got it done.  I had no TV or internet, just the radio station from AL A&M University in Huntsville.   I cut enough wood for the evening fire and set up my futon in front of the fireplace.

I made some oak tables, a bed, and a kitchen island.  It was fun making the furniture.   I then decided the exterior needed my signature, so ... as my first venture into visual art,  I created the sky symbol 'sun' and the Sky Castle sign.



Over the years, I added a weather station, a large woodshed and wood splitter, a spa with porch roof, some plants, and a covered porch complete with wood stove, futon, TV ... and this piece of copper wind art:

This is the house I'll likely live in the rest of my life.  Being in nature surrounded by never-to-be developed Land Trust Wilderness and the protected Franklin Forest is the place I want to be.

Future plans are to build a guest house.

I'm back ... Sewanee summer 2017

It's been a while since I've posted here.  Life has been very good the past few years.  2015 and 2016 were great years for me.  2017 has been pretty awesome too.  Winning another USATF National Masters indoor track championship and a WMACi World Championship in Korea. Traveling to France, Australia, and Korea as an athlete; my 2015 sabbatical concert tour, and more time in Sewanee as this place remains as magical to me as the day I first saw it.

This time of year, when the dewpoint gets high and daily summer thundershowers form, Lost Cove in Sewanee becomes a kaleidoscope of fog and light.  Mornings and evenings are particularly spectacular.  The past week leading up to the 4th of July, it has been cool, a high of 81º for the whole week, with most days in the 70ºs.

It's a view I see from my bed when I wake up.   Can't imagine living here and not being in this location.  The town is nice, but the town is not why I moved here.

I moved here for this....